As a girl in a male-dominated friend group, school and world, I experience the sort of casual sexism that most girls experience: the double standards, getting underestimated and general differences in treatment compared to my male friends every day. I tend to surround myself with like-minded people who believe in gender equality, so I was mostly listened to and supported when I spoke out about this to my male friends. After I realized that they had my back in these situations, I began to call out sexism whenever I saw it to help my friends and the people around me to realise when they were making mistakes. Soon, I became That Angry Feminist GirlTM and would get an eye roll whenever I spoke.
I realised that this is the exact problem. My friends were happy to watch me call out some random guy for saying that “I would be a lot of trouble for my future husband” but when I start calling out more than 20% of sexist comments, I stop getting taken seriously. It is infuriating that we have to water down feminism to make it accessible to men so that we will be listened to.
On the other hand, baby steps are essential if we want to make it anywhere. To win the fight against sexism, all genders need to stand together. Sexism affects your mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues, and yourselves. If you’re a man, try using your privilege to help raise women’s voices instead of rolling your eyes. We must contribute to creating a more equal society.
Written by Ella Klassen
Artwork by Zara Masood
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